Beside The Seaside

Those of you who know me of old, are fully aware that I'm rarely happier than when I'm beside the seaside. Particularly when there are rock pools involved. Today we're off to Lowca beach where marine molluscs and crustaceans await us, plenty of birds on the shoreline, and some interesting plants to observe and maybe eat later on.

Let's start with the molluscs. Collecting seashells is a worldwide hobby, there's even an International Seashell Collectors Club. Most of these are Gastropods, as are the slugs and snails that you find on land. The exception is the mussel which is a bivalve, as are oysters, clams and scallops. These have two half shells joined with a hinge. Besides the mussels, we have limpets who's claim to fame is their teeth (of which they have 100 rows) that are the hardest known biological substance on earth. We also have some Common Periwinkles, Atlantic Dogwhelks and even a little Top Snail.

There are quite a few crab carcases on the tide line too. Despite its deep orange colour this one is known as the European Green Shore Crab, or variations on that name. Here in the UK, for example, we refer to them simply as shore crabs. This is a very invasive species. Native to the European and North African Atlantic coasts, including the North and Baltic Seas, it has now spread as far as the Pacific coast of North America and the coasts of Australia and New Zealand.

As we've been walking along we've had a couple of Sand Martins darting about which have arrived from their overwintering grounds in southern and east Africa. Our friends the Oystercatchers are patrolling the shore line whilst, rootling about on the tide line is a Ringed Plover with his distinctive bright orange legs. There's a small stream running down ont the beach where a Common Sandpiper is investigating. You can tell that ity's a Common Sandpiper because the white breast feathers extend all the way up to the shoulder. We also have a Rock Pipit, obligingly standing on a rock, and in the hinterland behind us, a Linnet is surveying the ground from his vantage point atop a woody shrub.

Looking behind us, there is a great swathe of greenery which will be very pretty later in the year as it is all Japanese Rose. Unfortunately, this is another of those invasive species, which you may remember, we discussed up the coast at Siddick Ponds, earlier in the year. There are also some edible plants down here. There is Rock Samphire growing on the back wall (not to be confused with Marsh Samphire which is entirely different). For my thoughts on the edibility of Rock samphire see Snakeless in Sisi. We also have some Sea Kale. The blanched shoots of these were a Victorian delicacy and one of the most expensive vegetables around at the time. The leaves are also edible but they are very strong in flavour, to the point of being almost unpalatable in the case of the larger leaves. The smaller leaves can be cooked the same as you would for curly kale. Despite their names, Sea kale is more closely related to cabbage and chard than to Curly kale.

It looks like Jack has found a Sea Slater and isn't quite sure what to do with it. These are common inhabitants of the littoral zone (the beach and the hinterland behind it) and, as you can see, it looks like a woodlouse, to which it is closely related. The term louse is a misnomer as they are not lice at all (which are insects) but isopods which are a type of crustacean, the same as crabs and lobsters. (Woodlice and Sea Slaters are covered in pages 56-57 of The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies)

That about wraps it up for today. Oh, I do love to be beside the seaside.

See you next week

Steve

#CumbriaNature

Steve's Books

The Quick Guide to Creepy-Crawlies All you need to know to identify any type of insect, spider, worm or snail very simply and find out more about it. Yvonne: This was a gift for a family so that the children can understand what they see on days out. The second was for me. Logical and easy to use. If you know anyone who likes nature you can be confident that gifting this book will give years of pleasure.
The Eggs of Saramova A science fiction novella for those who don't like science fiction. A fast-paced thriller that is, literally, out of this world (and it starts right here in Crete). Too new for reviews yet!	£7.50 Paperback edition
Not Just For Twisted Women by Steve Daniels  A light-hearted look at life through the eyes of the fairer sex. Janet: If you are short on time but enjoy reading and are maybe not into long extended novels then Not Just For... Twisted Women provides readers with concise stories that stand alone and most certainly entertain with their ultimate twists. Loved it. Helen: A very good read! Well written and entertaining! Margaret: Each quick tale gives a glimpse into a character's life and has an often humorous twist at the end. I would love to read more. Yvonne: These days many people find it hard to find the time to read a novel, so this book of short stories is ideal to dip into. It is also makes a good gift.	£4.99 Paperback edition

See sample pages of all my books and latest blogs, and keep abreast of latest publications here: http://author.to/SteveDaniels

Crete Nature Catch-up
Series 1 - Welcome to Lasithi	Series 2 - The Rhythm Of Life	Series 3 - A Journey Begins
Series 4 - The Milonas Valley	Series 5 - This Is Ferma	Series 6 - Upland Villages
Series 7 - The Forty saints	Series 8 - Sunday Strolls	Series 9 -Stormy Weather

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LINKS:

Share your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

Crete Nature Almanack 2018 Autumn

Autumn is nearly upon us and the birds are already flying south from northern Europe and either staying or passing through Crete on their way to sub-Saharan Africa. Find any stretch of water and you are likely to see birds such as Ruddy Turnstones, Arenaria interpres (top left); Common Sandpipers, Actitis hypoleucos (top right); and possibly even a Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythropus (bottom right). Look out also for the first appearance of the Black Redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros (bottom left), which usually arrives down here on the south east coast somewhere between late October and the end of November.

The flowers will start to appear after the first autumnal rains which have been getting gradually later over the past five years; from September 16^th in 2013 to September 29^th in 2017. I have chosen just three of them, but can you spot the connection? The first one is the Autumn Buttercup, Ranunculus bullatus, which grows throughout the Mediterranean, including north Africa. The second is the Autumn Squill, Prospero autumnale, which although it can be found throughout southern Europe and the Middle East, for some reason can also be found in Great Britain according to Kew Garden's world checklist. The third one is Crocus laevigatus, which is endemic to Crete and is one of a number of crocuses sometimes known as the Autumn Crocus as, like the others, it flowers at this time of year.

The rains also bring forth the snails, of course, and the familiar Garden Snail, Cornu aspersum, starts to appear in considerable numbers in gardens and supermarkets across the island. Apart from being edible did you know that its yucky, slimy secretions are used in American skin creams? The second one is the Chocolate-band Snail, Eobania vermiculata, which also appears in gardens but not so often in supermarkets. They are edible but considered inferior to Garden Snails by the Greeks so we export them to France (mind you, that little nugget of information is 37 years old, so don't quote me on it). Finally, the Green Garden Snail, Cantareus apertus, which has a shell that can vary from creamy yellow, through olive green, to almost black but is easily recognisable if you pick it up. It will blow bubbles all over your hand which reeks of slightly off garlic and lasts for days. Incidentally Wikipedia notes that “In Crete this species is active for 3–4 months after the first rainfalls in October.” Rubbish; I've found them out and about at the end of March.

As the seasonal rivers and streams start to fill, listen out for the a capella amphibian assembly after dark. The frogs and toads become very vocal in the autumn. The main singers being the Green Toad, Bufotes viridis, (left) which I think is a very dull name for such a beautiful animal, the endemic Cretan Frog, Pelophylax cretensis (middle). This is a particularly vivid specimen, they are usually much duller, and the diminutive European Tree Frog, Hyla arborea, which, although small, certainly holds his own in the croaking stakes.

Autumn also sees the opening of the mushroom season and lets hope we have a better one than last year when they were very few and far between. In fact, the only ones I found were these Mica Caps, Coprinellus micaceus, a nice, edible mushroom but you have to get them in the pan within the hour and, given the other caveats (see Voila - Turkish Delight ) one wonders whether they're worth collecting at all. Hopefully, this year we'll find a few more species.

That's it for the almanack; next week sees the start of Steve's Sunday Strolls and for those of you who are on the island during the next fortnight here is where you can join me:

Sunday 23^rd September

11 am

Sisi

(see last week's post for details).

Sunday 30^th September

11 am

Ag. Charalampos, Lassithi Plateau

A gentle stroll around one corner of the Plathini-Lagkada Wildlife Refuge and a handy village taverna where we can chat about what we have seen afterwards.

The Extra Bit

A big thank you to all who have taken the time to investigate my book of short stories and an even bigger thank you to those of you who have actually bought a copy (Amazon Kindle £1.99 or currency equivalent).

Photographic Bit

Many of you have asked me what photographic equipment I use so for details of aperture settings, shutter speeds etc. my pictures will be on Flickr within a few days and that has all the geeky stuff.Pictures were edited with FastStone Image Viewer and combined with Microsoft Paint.

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LINKS:

Share your nature thoughts, photos and comments on Naturalists (the facebook page that accompanies this blog)

Explore the region with the #CreteNature interactive Hiking and Nature Map

Cretan Flora

Flowers of Crete;

BIRDS OF CRETE